


Hardest of Hearts

by betweenacts



Series: The Trouble with Love Is [1]
Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-15
Updated: 2012-05-15
Packaged: 2017-11-05 10:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/405436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betweenacts/pseuds/betweenacts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of Free Falling and how Catherine and David's relationship grew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hardest of Hearts

_“…Darling heart, I loved you from the start  
But that’s no excuse for the state I’m in  
The hardest of hearts…”_  - Florence + the Machine   
  
David had fallen in love with Catherine three days into the shooting of ‘The Runaway Bride’. She is completely different from the clear type he had for women. He likes petite blondes, and she is a tall ginger full of curves woman. Not that he noticed her curves, not at all.   
But it wasn’t about how gorgeous she was, and clearly oblivious to it, but how she had a capacity to make him laugh in a level that no one had.    
However, she had a partner, and a child. So he tried to tone his natural flirting being down, and his dear friend Sarah was there so he could keep a safe distance to Catherine.   
Until he couldn’t, they sent e-mails to each other and got quite acquainted and Russell asked him what he thought about having Catherine/Donna as a full time companion and he tried really hard to not squeal like a little girl.   
And then it was hard. For David was used to having the other way around, not that he thought as himself as a womanizer, or a sex symbol - as a matter of fact, to him, he had the sex appeal of an oyster -, all the same he had been able to attract women in his life; and having the emotional range of a spoon, he usually hurt them, and jumped out of relationships really fast. It seemed to him that he wanted to have children, but didn’t want the drama that came with spending his life with someone. So he never said forever, never talked about it, never dreamed about it.   
Until there was Catherine. Sweet, funny, gorgeous, slightly insane Catherine, always so out of reach.   
  
What he didn’t know was that Catherine sported a healthy crush on him, she just didn’t dwell on it for too long, because she was in a relationship and even though it was not always perfect, she did love Twig. And having crushes was a normal thing, what made a difference was not acting upon them, for you love who you are with.    
The crush grew into a platonic love she never told anyone about and wished one day would go away. Now they were best friends, and he told her when he decided to take Georgia on a date and she knew that it was best that way, it was for the better that he never knew. He could never know.   
  
And one day, on a clear day that seemed unreal for London, Twig and her were over. There was no fighting, no screaming. There was nothing; just a slow painful realization they were fooling each other in a pretend relationship. Trapped in something just because it was comfortable. The first person she told about it was David, like she knew she would do.    
She sat there telling him about little things that used to irritate her and slowly just didn’t matter anymore. Their story together had been a slow waltz and she was just tired of the same four steps, they both were. Her feet were tired, but more so for longing something new. Once upon a time she had thought Twig was her prince charming and now she felt like a bloody idiot for still even believing those kind of things.    
  
There were hundreds of little things and plans going through David’s mind, he knew it was too soon and however he knew he would fail sometimes and make a fool out of himself most of the times, no one would ever try as hard as he would to make her happy.   
That’s when the penny dropped and he remembered that now he had someone and they were with a child on the way and the day before he had proposed because it seemed like the right thing to do after so many years and a child. And he couldn’t bring himself to tell Catherine now. So he decided to tell her a safe secret fantasy.   
“You know, one of my dreams is to do Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing with you.” she started laughing and his eyebrows went high on his forehead.   
“I’ve been dreaming to be your Beatrice for a few years.” she bit her lower lip with a tone of confession.   
Somehow they went from deep conversation about love to brainstorming for a new project, and that was very much them. And they were both grateful for that, because that way it was one more day they passed through without spoiling it all by saying anything stupid.   
Like ‘I love you’, saying ‘I love you’ is something really stupid.   
  
When March came and his little baby girl was born he knew there was a meaning on why Catherine and him would never be an item. Georgia made him happy and gave him the most precious of gifts, the chance to be a father. He held her tight in his arms afraid to let her fall and to hurt her with holding her in the wrong way, and then his best friend came to visit them.   
“I know I will see you on Monday, but let’s face it, I’m here for the baby.” she said. Erin was excited to see the baby too, and kept saying how tiny she was. “You were even tinier.”   
“You are lying.” Erin said.   
“Am not.” she looked into David’s eyes. “Can I hold her? I promise to not steal her. This one, one cat and one dog are enough for me.” Erin was suddenly bored and ran downstairs to be with her ‘Uncle John’.   
Georgia was asleep in their bedroom and there David was, watching the woman he loved holding his child. Don’t get him wrong, he did love Georgia, that love that comes with time and shared history, constant and safe and lukewarm, but they now had little Olive and nothing changed everything like a child.   
Catherine cooed and singed very low for the baby’s ears only, still he could hear it.   
“She is all you, poor Georgia, won’t let her sleep babbling away without even knowing a word yet.”   
“Hey!” he said trying to sound cross but a smile got in the way of his performance. “Do you ever wish you had another child?”   
“Yeah, being an only child is hard…” then she tried changing topics. “I may or may not have a date lurking around the corner.”   
“What do you mean? Weren’t you going to do that Take That spoof with Alan?”   
“I already did. And asked Alan for Jason Orange’s number.”   
“Are you serious?”   
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? He is cute and all that.”   
“I bet he is.” Olive found that the perfect moment to start crying.   
“I thing baby wants to be fed.” she gave her back to him and added. “I know it sounds daft to date a guy in a boy band but I didn’t even call him yet. Although I did ask John to run a gaydar test, will never commit the same mistake again. Hitting on a gorgeous man and being hitched because I didn’t realize he was gay always ruins my humor for weeks.”    
  
Everything was as it had always been between them. But inside them it was getting harder, seeing each other everyday and being able to kiss each other and trying to keep it cool.   
They were both incredibly professional and no one could say the contrary, except this time because they’ve both been waiting for it, aching for it, for so long…   
They tried to brush it off by joking, it was them after all, Catherine asked about Olive and Georgia, David asked about Erin and Jason, and everything was swell.   
But one day Catherine was leaving rehearsal and it was just the two of them and he pressed her in the wall and kissed her long and hard until her lips were red and swollen. She dug one hand in his hair and the other sought for what was underneath his shirt. She was wearing a long lose skirt and he loved it, because he could do what he was doing right now, he put his hands on her knees and raised her legs to stay on his hips, and his hands were everywhere. She could feel him everywhere, she wanted him so badly right now, with one of his hands on her buttocks and the other trying to find place, and his tongue ever so demanding dancing with hers, and she needed more.   
She put her hands on the front of his pants trying to unzip it, then his phone rang and the magic broke. For the first time she heard the noises coming from the outside of the rehearsal room; there was some faint music playing somewhere, a siren, and in the phone was Georgia. She smoothed her skirt, her blouse, got her things and her dignity and left.   
His shirt was smelling of her and as he talked to Georgia he couldn’t shake the image of Catherine with her lips parted, pined up on the wall, and her thighs, and her breasts and her hair…   
“Yes, Georgia, I’m leaving rehearsal right now. Is everything ok with Olive? Good.”   
  
It was easier than they thought it would be to pretend nothing happened, though the ache just grew as the run came and they had to snog each other everyday. They never wanted to part when that time came in the play, so the kisses grew hungrier and longer and harder. But that was just acting, right?   
David’s wedding had a date now and Catherine would leave to LA as soon as the year turned into 2012.   
They could even pretend to not love each other. Then Catherine would call to ask ‘what is the name of that alien things that I thought were run by electricity?’ or David would show her a new song he heard on the radio and was his favorite song ever, for now. And they remembered why they started feeling that way, so many years ago. But if they both lived by the motto that sex doesn’t change anything, almost sex should not even bother them. Except that wasn’t true.   
Then it happened again, or something really close to it.   
They had already done the exhaustive stagedoor routine and were waiting for the action to wind down to leave the Theatre, she was in her dressing room checking her phone to see if anyone called during the play and he got in without knocking.   
“Don’t you have manners? How do you expect to be a good father when you are like that?” she said severely but with a funny mock voice. He came closer and put her on the dressing table. “What are you doing?” he kissed her so tenderly she thought she would melt. His tongue caressing hers, his hands trying to mark her body as his ever so slowly. The tenderness, the care with whom he caressed her was worst than the frantic assault in the rehearsal room because it made them both ache for something more than just physical sexual release. It begged for company, for relationship, for walks in the park and things they could never have. And it was unbearable.   
He took off her shirt kissing every inch of skin he uncovered and she almost came undone.   
“Don’t do this to me, this is unfair. You are going to get married and you keep doing this to me, you are not a teenager anymore, David. You are a man, start acting like one.”   
  
They never talked about it again, the run ended and December came on too fast. And she was happy for him, and for herself. Things with Jason were brilliant, and the wedding was beautiful. And Georgia was stunning and David looked happy.    
And he said ‘I do’.   
Catherine used to believe she had the Hardest of Hearts. She’d been through a lot in her life and never fell in love unexpectedly, she trained herself to fall in love with the right people, the pain seemed less that way.   
The Hardest of Hearts had fallen in love with a man that would always be someone else’s and happened to be her best friend. Maybe LA would do her well, to stay away for a while, it could only do good; that’s what she told herself as she watched the happy couple dancing their first dance as a married couple.


End file.
